1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to playing cards, and, more particularly, to playing cards and card games, and, even more particularly, to cards and card games that are used for educational purposes, and, still more particularly, to cards and card games that are used to educate players about current U.S. political figures.
2. Background Art
Playing cards and card games are a part of human social history. Over the centuries, cards have found their way into palaces and hovels, monasteries and taverns, riverboats and fortune-telling booths. They have been used to instruct young Louis XIV of France in subjects ranging from geography to Greek mythology, and they have been used to teach memory skills (eg. the game "Concentration") and elementary arithmetic (eg. the game "Twenty-Four") to modern-day school-age children. Playing cards have also been used to enrich the cardsharp and impoverish the unwary. Indian legend asserts that playing cards were even used by the wife of a Maharajah to wean him from the habit of pulling his beard.
Numerous theories as to the origin of playing cards abound. Such theories are seldom probable, occasionally romantic, and rarely capable of proof. Some scholars point to the Far East of the 12th century as the birth-place of playing cards. Others argue that playing cards are the product of 14th century European genius. Supporters of the Far East pedigree maintain that both chess and cards are derived from a combination of the Korean divinatory arrow and Chinese paper money. Those espousing European origin rely on, among other things, a manuscript, dated 1377, written in Latin by Johannes, a German monk who lived in a Swiss monastery, from which manuscript it evidently can be gleaned that playing cards originated in the West in or about the year 1370. Whatever their true birthright, what is certain is that playing cards are of old and mixed descent and know many uses other than gaming.
As alluded to above, playing cards have proved useful, generally, as educational tools. Currently, there is a need for effective educational tools to combat the related problems of political ignorance and voter apathy in this country. The present invention is directed to employing playing cards to satisfy this need.
Many who profess to monitor the political culture in the United States see a political system in decline. The steady decline in voting is the most visible evidence that something is wrong. According to the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, voting in presidential elections has declined 20% since 1960. Almost half of those eligible to vote stay home, despite extravagant campaigns and extensive media coverage. In the representative branch, elected power rests on an even narrower base. In off-year elections, senators and representatives typically gain office on the votes of fewer than 20% of their constituents. The current political distress has been diagnosed as, among other things, the failure of ill-informed citizens. Those things that once linked ordinary people to governing--namely, political parties and the media--for one reason or another no longer seem adequate to the task of educating voters about their political representatives. It is an ill-informed citizen who becomes an apathetic non-voter. When the people go missing from the process of self-government, government itself suffers from the loss. There is a pressing need, therefore, for an educational tool that will provide the ordinary citizen with meaningful and current information about his/her political representatives.